By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The release of more than 2,800 records related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy revealed some unexpected and wild information about spies, surveillance, informants and assassination plots.
Here are five of those findings:
Money offered to kill Castro
A 1964 FBI memo revealed the U.S. offered Cuban exiles $100,000 to kill dictator Fidel Castro, $20,000 for Raul Castro and $20,000 for Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Initially, Cuban exiles initially suggested a larger reward while in a meeting with U.S. officials.
“It was felt that the $150,000 to assassinate FIDEL CASTRO plus $5,000 expense money was too high,” the memo noted.
Russia: VP Lyndon Johnson behind assassination
Russian sources in the KGB insisted it had “data” that showed Vice President Lyndon Johnson was responsible for the assassination of JFK.
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent a top secret memo to the White House that claimed the assassination was a “well-organized conspiracy.”
The 1966 memo cited a Russian mole who claimed the assassination was am “ultra-right” plot to create a “coup.”
“They seemed convinced that the assassination was not the deed of one man, but it arose out of a carefully planned campaign in which several people played a part,’” said the memo.
Bizarre schemes to kill Castro
The U.S. considered some wild schemes to kill Castro, including an underwater, “booby-trapped spectacular shell” that “would be loaded with explosives” to blow up Castro when her went diving.
“After investigation it was determined that there was no shell in the Caribbean area large enough to hold a sufficient amount of explosive which was spectacular enough to attract the attention of Castro.”
Other assassination plots included contaminating Castro’s diving suit, giving him botulism in his food and sending a lone gunman to shoot the dictator.
“The plans involved a number of bizarre schemes and, in at least one instance, involved some contact with organized criminal elements. Among the means considered were poison, botulism pills, and the use of Cuban Exile groups,” said one intelligence report on Cuba.
Johnson a member of the KKK?
An informant told the FBI in May 1964 that the KKK “had documented proof that President Johnson was formerly a member of the Klan in Texas during the early days of his political career.”
No documented proof was provided to back up the claims.
Johnson, some say reluctantly, pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to outlaw racial discrimination.
Sex parties involving JFK
A 1960 memo suggests a Los Angeles private investigator approached a “high-priced Hollywood call-girl” for information about sex parties involving then Senator John F. Kennedy, his brother-in-law actor Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
The memo read: The memo read: “She told the agents that she was unaware of any indiscretions.”
